Part 6 (1/2)

Williaars, but the capture of important towns inspired hin countries and had his agents everywhere

Sainte Aldgonde was one of the priotiations He was a poet as well as a soldier, and wrote the stirring national anthe in the Netherlands

Burghers now opened their purses to give money, for they felt that victories

William took the field with hired soldiers, and was met by the news of the terrible massacre of Protestants in France in 1572 on the Eve of St Bartholomew All his hopes of help froround at once, and for the ed at Mons by Alva He tried to relieve his brother, but was ignominiously prevented by the _Ca white shi+rts over their arht hundred of his soldiers

William threw in his lot, once for all, with the Northern provinces, receiving a hearty welcoallant struggle He was recognized as Stadtholder by aof the States in 1572, and liberty of worshi+p was established for Protestants and Catholics His authority was absolute in this region of the Low Countries

Alva revenged himself for the resistance of Mons by the brutal sack of Malines and of Zutphen The outrages of his soldiers were almost inhuman, and immense booty was captured, to the satisfaction of the leader

Amsterdam was loyal to Philip, but Haarlem was in the hands of Calvinists The Spanish ar to take it at the first assault, but they met with a stubborn resistance The citizens had in their minds the horror of the sack of Zutphen They repulsed one assault after another and the siege, begun in December 1572, was turned into a blockade, and still the Spaniards could not enter The heads of the leaders of relief ar into Haarleibes The reply to this was a barrel which was sent rolling out carrying eleven heads, ten in payment of the tax of one-tenth hitherto refused to Alva and the eleventh as interest on the sum which had not been paid quite promptly!

It was in July 1573, when the citizens had been reduced by famine to the consumption of {94} weeds, shoe-leather, and vermin, that the Spanish army entered Haarlem

The loss on both sides was enormous, and Williaarrison of 4000 It seeibbets rose on all sides to exhibit the leaders of the desperate resistance

But the fleets of the Beggars rode the sea in triuiven spirit to other towns unwilling to be beaten in endurance Alva was disappointed to find that immediate sub that his health and strength were gone, and he was unwilling to lose his reputation

Don Luis Requesens, his successor, would have e adhered to certain resolutions There hout the Netherlands, where all the ancient charters of liberty n his office

William then declared himself a Calvinist, probably for patriotic reasons

The hope of assistance froain inevitably

Louis of Nassau obtained a large sum of French money and intended to raise troops for the relief of Leyden, which was invested by the Spaniards in 1574 He gathered a force of mixed nationality and no cohesion, and was surprised and killed with his gallant brother Henry

Their loss was a great blow to William, who felt that the responsibilities of the war henceforward rested solely on his shoulders

Leyden was relieved by the desperate device of cutting the dykes and opening the sluices to flood the land around it A fleet was thus enabled to sail in a {95} Spanish The Sea-Beggars were driven by the wind to the outskirts of Leyden, where they engaged indeserted by the Spanish who fled froe received the news at Delft, where he had taken up his residence He founded the University of Leyden as a memorial of the citizens' endurance The victory, however, was modified soave the Spaniards an outlet on the sea and also cut off Walcheren from Holland

In sheer desperation Willianty of Holland and Zealand if she would engage in the struggle against Spain Elizabeth dared not refuse, lest France should step into the breach, but she was unwilling to declare herself publicly on the side of rebels

In April 1576 an Act of Federation was signed which formally united the two States of Zealand and Holland and conferred the supreovernor in peace

Requesens was dead; a general patriotic rising was imminent On September 26th the States-Generalall the provinces

The Spanish Fury at Antwerp caused general consternation in the Netherlands The ancient toas attacked quite suddenly, all its wealth falling into the hands of rapacious soldiers No less than 7000 citizens met their death at the hands of men who carried the standard of Christ on the Cross and knelt to ask God's blessing before they entered on the old had come upon the Spaniards, who hastened to secure the treasures accumulated at Antwerp Jewels {96} and velvets and laces were coveted asboxes of the merchants, and torture was employed to discover the plate and -party was interrupted, and the clothes of the bride stripped from her Many palaces fell by fire and the splendid Town House perished For thole days the city was the scene of indescribable horrors

The Pacification of Ghent had been signed when the news of the Spanish Fury reached the States-General The e, as ruler of Holland and Zealand, to drive the foreigner from their country The Union of Brussels confirmed this treaty in January 1577, for the South were anxious to rid theh they desired to ion

Don John of Austria, Philip II's half-brother, was accepted as Governor-General after he had given a general promise to observe the wishes of the people

Don John made a state entry into Brussels, but he soon found that the Prince of Orange had gained complete ascendancy over the Netherlands and that he was by no reeary of a position of dependence; he seized Na the States-General A universal cry for Orange was raised in the confusion that followed, and William returned in triumph to the palace of Nassau Both North and South demanded that he should be their leader; both Protestant and Catholic proal

In January 1578, the Archduke Matthias, brother of the Emperor, was invited by the Catholic party to enter Brussels as its governor

Willia that the supreme poas still vested in himself, but he was dis that their combined armies would be more than a match for his Confusion returned after a victory of Pareneral The Catholic Duke of Anjou took Mons, and John Casimir, brother of the Elector-Palatine, entered the Netherlands from the east as the chaonis the union of the provinces

Willia the alliance of Queen Elizabeth, Henry of Navarre, and John Casimir, while the Duke of Anjou accepted the title of Defender of the Liberties of the Netherlands His work seemed undone on the death of Don John in 1578 and the succession of Alexander, Duke of Parma This Prince sowed the seeds of discord very skilfully, separating the Walloon provinces from the Reforainst the excesses of the Calvinists Religious tolerance was to be found nowhere, save in the heart of Williae North and South separated in January 1579, and made treaties which bound theion